Venue Decision Still Pending

FIBA Europe would like to clarify that a decision regarding the venues of EuroBasket 2013 is still pending.

The Slovenian Basketball Federation and the Local Organising Committee had announced on Tuesday that the last two of five venues for the tournament were Celje and the Tivoli arena in the capital city Ljubljana.

While FIBA Europe were in constant dialogue with the Local Organisers about the aforementioned potential venues, no agreement could be reached up to this point.

"In order to avoid any confusion I would like to stress that the announcements on Tuesday were made unilaterally" commented FIBA Europe President Olafur Rafnsson.

"We are surprised that such statements were made without prior communication and consent from our side."

A FIBA Europe delegation had visited both venues in July and was in constant contact with the Local Organisers about the status of the arenas.

While it is not ruled out that Celje and Tivoli arena will become First Round venues at EuroBasket 2013, a final decision could not be taken without certain guarantees and assurances.

Those guarantees have not been presented to FIBA Europe until Wednesday 29 August.

A decision on the matter is pending final approval by an extraordinary FIBA Europe Board meeting, scheduled for September, a fact that the Local Organising Committee was aware of.

"We are seeking contact with our partners in Slovenia and hope to solve the open issues in due time" concluded Mr. Rafnsson.